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Steve Witkoff submitted a recommendation for convicted Russian mobster, Anatoly Golubchik when he applied to live in a luxury condominium building in New York City.
Golubchik was convicted of operating a high-stakes, illegal gambling business out of New York City. And get this, it was headquartered in Trump Tower, directly below Donald Trump’s penthouse!!!
Now, before I get into what kind of business this Russian mobster was involved in (or is involved in? Because apparently he’s still alive), I need to make a couple of things VERY clear.
First of all, I AM NOT SUICIDAL.
I would also like to formally announce that I have absolutely no interest in having the Russian mob come after me. When I first came across this story, I was actually hoping this guy was dead because I wanted to report on it SOOO badly without having to worry about whether some Russian mobster was going to take a personal interest in my existence.
But alas, he’s still alive, and the last thing I wanted to discover while researching this story was that the man I’m about to tell you about is still walking around New York City.
Just my luck.
But the show must go on, so here I am, potentially making some very questionable decisions for the sake of bringing you another absolutely insane story about the people running our government.
Second, and I cannot believe this even needs to be said, IT IS NOT NORMAL TO BE FRIENDS WITH A RUSSIAN MOBSTER. OR AN ITALIAN MOBSTER. OR ANY MOBSTER, FOR THAT MATTER.
You could dig through every single detail of my life, interview everyone I’ve ever met, investigate every person I’ve ever done business with, and I can promise you that one thing you will NOT find is a personal connection to the Russian mob. Mmkay?
Because contrary to what the people running this country might have you believe, THE AVERAGE AMERICAN DOES NOT JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE RUSSIAN MOBSTERS IN THEIR SOCIAL CIRCLE.
These aren’t exactly the kinds of people you accidentally bump into while grocery shopping or meet at your neighborhood barbecue.
And if you happen to know a Russian mobster well enough that you’re personally vouching for him to move into a luxury condominium building, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to start asking how the hell you two became acquainted in the first place.
People don’t typically become friends with Russian mobsters by accident and I find it awfully interesting how often people with connections to organized crime seem to turn up in the social circles of some of the most powerful people in our government.
GOLUBCHIK AND THE RUSSIAN MOB
What do Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Alex Rodriguez, Russian mobsters, and Steve Witkoff all have in common?
Well, apparently, a whole lot more than you might expect.
An international gambling ring connected to the Russian mob held underground poker games for A-list celebrities, wealthy Wall Street financiers, and professional athletes.
Through gambling websites operating illegally in the United States, the ring also ran a high-stakes sports betting business that catered to Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs.
President Barack Obama's pick for ambassador to France, billionaire investor Marc Lasry, had to turn down the position over his ties to one of the defendants.
And one of the men running this criminal enterprise was Anatoly Golubchik, the very same man Steve Witkoff personally described as a “friend” and “a person of strong reputation and integrity.”
Now, I think we should take a closer look at exactly who this man of such strong reputation and integrity actually is, because apparently Witkoff and I have very different definitions of those words.
In April 2013, Golubchik was indicted alongside 32 other alleged members of a Russian-American organized crime enterprise on charges involving racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and illegal gambling. Golubchik specifically was accused of extorting money through force and threats of force.
He eventually pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
Yes, the man Steve Witkoff personally vouched for as someone of “strong reputation and integrity” ended up pleading guilty to participating in a Russian-American organized crime conspiracy.
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But before Golubchik went to prison, he had his sights set on some Manhattan real estate, and when he needed someone to provide a personal reference to the building’s board of directors, who better to call than his good friend Steve Witkoff?
Golubchik operated the American side of an international criminal enterprise with extensive connections to Russia and Ukraine. The organization ran a massive illegal sports gambling ring out of New York City, with its operations headquartered on the 63rd floor of Trump Tower, just three floors below Donald Trump’s penthouse.
The gambling operation catered primarily to wealthy Russian oligarchs living in Russia and Ukraine with Golubchik booking sports bets worth millions of dollars and helping launder the enormous sums of money flowing through the organization.
And when I say enormous, I’m talking about $100 MILLION.
Between 2006 and April 2012, the enterprise laundered approximately $100 million in proceeds from its illegal gambling operations through shell companies and bank accounts in Cyprus. Of that money, approximately $50 million was subsequently transferred into the United States, where it was moved through additional shell companies or invested in legitimate businesses, including hedge funds and real estate.
In other words, this wasn’t some small-time gambling operation where a couple of guys were taking illegal bets in the back of a bar. We’re talking about an international criminal enterprise moving tens of millions of dollars across borders, using offshore accounts and legitimate American investments to launder the proceeds.
And one of the industries being used to move that money was REAL ESTATE.
Which makes Witkoff’s personal recommendation for Golubchik to purchase a Manhattan condominium all the more interesting, doesn’t it?
But the connections don’t end there.
The gambling ring included a number of associates of Semion Mogilevich, one of the most notorious and powerful figures in the Russian Mafia.
And if you’ve never heard of Semion Mogilevich, you’re going to want to pay attention, because this man wasn’t exactly your neighborhood bookie.
Mogilevich, a multibillionaire mob boss nicknamed the “Brainy Don,” has been linked to an international criminal empire involving drug trafficking, prostitution, weapons trafficking, money laundering, and stolen art.
He ran drug trafficking and prostitution rings on an international scale.
He bought a bankrupt airline to ship heroin from Southeast Asia into Europe. He used a jewelry business in Moscow and Budapest as a front for art that Russian gangsters stole from museums and churches all over Europe.
He has also been accused of selling some $20 million in stolen weapons, including ground-to-air missiles and armored troop carriers, to Iran. “He uses this wealth and power to not only further his criminal enterprises,” the FBI says, “but to influence governments and their economies.”
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GOVERNMENT CONNECTIONS TO ORGANIZED CRIME
I don’t know about you, but I find it incredibly disturbing that a man representing the United States in some of the most consequential diplomatic negotiations in the world has personal connections to a Russian mobster, who, for all we know, could still be involved in organized crime. I mean, isn’t the mob kind of like the CIA? The only way out is in a body bag… or so they say.
And let’s not forget that part of this $100 million criminal enterprise was operating out of TRUMP TOWER, of all places. And considering how much Trump loves fame, wealth, and rubbing shoulders with celebrities, I find it very difficult to believe he had absolutely no idea what was happening in his own building, especially when some of Hollywood’s biggest names were associated with this gambling ring.
Not to mention, when you tie all of this into how deeply enmeshed the Witkoff family is with the Trump and Kushner families, and all of their various conflicts of interest and corruption, it certainly raises a whole lot of questions. None of which many reporters, if any, seem all that interested in getting to the bottom of.
Did you know about Steve Witkoff’s connection to the Russian mob? Let me know in the comments and please share this article with a friend to help spread the word.
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